0:00:03 > 0:00:06Welcome to a world where nothing is as it seems.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Get down, get down!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Get on the floor! Get your hands behind your back now!
0:00:26 > 0:00:27Here at the Fake Britain house,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30we'll reveal the fakes that are flooding the market,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34conning people like you and me and making money for the criminals.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37We'll investigate the fraudsters who are selling us something
0:00:37 > 0:00:40that isn't real and could be dangerous
0:00:40 > 0:00:44and we'll help you avoid falling for a fake.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Police, could you open up, please?
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Today on Fake Britain...
0:00:48 > 0:00:52The fake car head lamp bulbs that could cause a serious accident.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Every time you go out in your car at night-time,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56you're in serious danger.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00The fake prom dress that ruined one teenager's big day.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03The beads are falling off, this has actually turned into a hole.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04What am I going to do?
0:01:04 > 0:01:08The fake memory cards that could cost you your most precious moments.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12There is corrupt files. It's very suspicious.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17And the art faker who conned an auction house out of thousands of pounds.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I think he did get pleasure out of deceiving people.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29You probably don't give them a second thought,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32you just flick a switch and your car head lamps are on.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36This is the type of bulb most cars used to have in their head lamps -
0:01:36 > 0:01:40halogen. Now, though, they tend to have these xenon bulbs,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43more expensive but the manufacturers say they last longer
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and because they're brighter, they are safer.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48This one won't be safer, though.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51It's likely to be more dangerous because it's a fake.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Nearly half of all road accidents take place at night.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01As darkness falls, reliable head lamp bulbs
0:02:01 > 0:02:05become essential for motorists to see where they're going.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10But what if the bulbs in your car were fake?
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Trading Standards are hunting for fake bulbs that might cut out
0:02:13 > 0:02:17unexpectedly when you most need them on a dark road at night.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27It's early morning.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Officers from Brent Trading Standards and the Metropolitan Police
0:02:31 > 0:02:35are on the trail of a suspected seller of potentially dangerous
0:02:35 > 0:02:37fake car head lamp bulbs.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41They're thought to be operating out of two addresses.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Trading Standards officer John Ashby is leading one of the teams.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49We suspect that counterfeit xenon head lamp bulbs
0:02:49 > 0:02:52are being either stored or supplied.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It's one or two premises, both residential,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57that are being raided simultaneously today.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Fake xenon head lamp bulbs can dazzle oncoming drivers.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05They've also been known to overheat,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09causing electrical failure and even fires inside the users' cars.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Keith Rafferty, from manufacturers Osram,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and Richard Armstrong, from Philips,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19are on hand to help identify any fakes that might be found.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Hopefully, today we can get the opportunity to put a stop to this
0:03:23 > 0:03:24counterfeit operation,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28because our prime consideration is the safety of our consumers.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35As John's team assembles outside the first address of interest,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Trading Standards officer Simon Legg
0:03:38 > 0:03:41has led his team to the second address.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Both teams are trying to catch the occupants unawares.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50At John's address, nobody's opening up.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Can you open the door, please? This is Brent Council with the Metropolitan Police.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58We've got powers to break the door down unless you open the door.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00RAPID KNOCKING
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And it's the same story at the other address.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Hello, it's the police, could you open up, please?
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Open the door, please.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10Here we go.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14We're going to come in. Could you let the police in?
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Eventually, both teams gain entry.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But John's team still has one obstacle in its way.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23Hello.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24Open the door. Police.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26All right, we're in.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Police with a warrant, yeah?
0:04:28 > 0:04:30With entry finally gained to both premises,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34the teams can begin their search for the fake head lamp bulbs.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39But along the way, who knows what they'll find?
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Is that personal consumption?
0:04:43 > 0:04:47We have found a pot full of herbal cannabis.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51We found some scales as well, which suggest that the cannabis could be
0:04:51 > 0:04:53being supplied to others.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57It's an interesting discovery but not what they're looking for.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Can you see in there?
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Soon, the team find a locked garage at the back of the property.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05There's nothing in the flat, we've got to check everything.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08It could be full of stuff.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10The door's padlocked, so there's only one way in.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21I feel like I'm in Storage Wars.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24But there are no fakes here.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27You win some, you lose some.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30So, where are the fake bulbs?
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Back in the house, John has better luck.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41He's found the first signs that hopefully link this address with criminality.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Ooh, hang on. Where were they?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47It's a pair of suspected fake head lamp bulbs.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Not much, but it is a start.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53We've got a box of returned light bulbs, Osram ones, which are car xenons.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55And on them they have written "malfunktiou",
0:05:55 > 0:05:58which I presume is Polish for "not working properly".
0:05:58 > 0:06:02And all the paperwork seems to go back to our main suspects,
0:06:02 > 0:06:07so it's a bit of helpful evidence, if only in a small quantity.
0:06:11 > 0:06:12Over at the other address,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15the team led by Trading Standards officer Simon Legg
0:06:15 > 0:06:17has had a positive result.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21This garage is full of thousands of the potentially dangerous
0:06:21 > 0:06:24fake car head lamp bulbs they've been searching for.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27And there's more evidence of fakery inside the house.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31It appears the bedroom upstairs is being used as an office
0:06:31 > 0:06:33where there's posting, packaging materials,
0:06:33 > 0:06:34business records, the computer,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36the internet side of the business.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And the garage is being used as the stock room.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41In there, we've got counterfeit Osram and Philips bulbs,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44along with other car head lamp paraphernalia.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Jan de Visser from Philips and John Lancaster from Osram
0:06:50 > 0:06:54can't wait to examine the suspected fake bulbs.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56There's different types of Philips bulbs,
0:06:56 > 0:06:57but that's one of the obvious ones.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01I think that is the only type of Osram product I can see at the moment.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03This has nothing to do with Phillips.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I take it that's nothing to do with Osram? This looks very good.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12The experts have confirmed that the Philips and Osram bulbs are fake,
0:07:12 > 0:07:17with the Osram ones amongst the most convincing fakes ever seen by the brand holder.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20The counterfeiters have definitely stepped up their game.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23We've seen over the last couple of years
0:07:23 > 0:07:26a big development in the quality of their packaging.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Every detail has been copied exactly,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31there's not spelling mistakes you would have seen a few years ago.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35The seal on the packaging is identical
0:07:35 > 0:07:38to what you would find on a genuine Osram.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The fake Philips head lamp bulbs look equally impressive.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44In this box,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49it's filled with counterfeit car head lamp bulbs.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52We've also found a quantity of these head lamp kits.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Our experts from Philips have never seen these before,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57but are confident they're counterfeit.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59There's a lot of good quality evidence here,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01it'll really help us with our investigation.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05It's a great result for Trading Standards.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08They've taken over 1,000 potentially dangerous fake xenon bulbs,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12worth around ?100,000, off the streets.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16Coming up,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18we put fake xenon headlamp bulbs to the test -
0:08:18 > 0:08:20with some shocking results.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23There's a very strong smell of burning rubber coming through.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28But it is a serious hazard for the driver, as this continues.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38Lots of schools now have an American-style prom for their pupils,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41celebrating the ending of exams or leaving school.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45They tend to be glitzy and glamorous affairs and pupils,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48with the help of their parents, spend small fortunes on dresses,
0:08:48 > 0:08:49suits and limousines.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The whole industry is worth tens of millions of pounds every year.
0:08:53 > 0:08:54But when this arrived,
0:08:54 > 0:08:59it wasn't the dream dress that its excited teenage owner expected.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00Far from it.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Dresses like this one are ruining prom nights up and down the country.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11End-of-year proms started in America
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and now they're taking off over here.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Up to 85% of British schools now have a prom, with some pupils,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25or their parents, spending over ?500 each on clothes, hairdos,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28spray tans and even limousine and helicopter hire.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Prom is the biggest night of the whole year
0:09:34 > 0:09:37because it represents the end of GCSEs.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40It's the end of everything you've been working for.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44The whole year starts planning the prom from pretty much the first day of the year.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47And then it goes all the way through pretty much the whole year.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Whilst shoes, hair, make-up and transport are all important parts of the prom experience,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56for some girls, there's one thing that matters above all else.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58The dress.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00The dress is seriously important.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02I mean, if it's amazing, it will make the night.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04If it's not that great, it will ruin the night.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06You have to find the right dress
0:10:06 > 0:10:08that maybe someone else might not have.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10You have to find the right colour that suits you,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13you're always thinking about, oh, what do other people think?
0:10:16 > 0:10:19You've got all that lovely train detail going down the back.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Tracy Beardsley owns a dress shop in Bournemouth
0:10:23 > 0:10:26that supplies wedding and prom dresses.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30The prom industry is worth up to 100 million in the UK,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33so it's very big business.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36We have a range that starts at ?85
0:10:36 > 0:10:38and goes right through to nearly ?600,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41so that's the kind of money that the girls are spending,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44or their parents are spending, on dresses.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And the girls feel it's as important as a wedding.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49That is nice.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Getting the right frock is so crucial for the girls
0:10:52 > 0:10:56that the dress suppliers have a huge responsibility.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00We take our role very seriously. That's why we keep a prom log.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03We won't sell the same dress to the same school in the same style
0:11:03 > 0:11:07because they really don't want to see another girl in the same dress as them.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I mean, that would be the ultimate nightmare on your prom.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15When Billie Haines's prom came round,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17the first thing on her mind was what she'd wear.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21She'd seen a dress online that she'd fallen in love with.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24I knew that was what I wanted, like, sort of a mermaid type.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I didn't see any dress that compared to it.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29It was literally like my dream dress.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34The dress was reduced from over ?500 to around 150,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36so it seemed like a bargain.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39The website promised custom fitting,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42so Billie filled in her measurements and ordered it.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46But when the dress finally turned up,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48it wasn't at all what she was expecting.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55You could see straightaway it wasn't the right colour.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58There's beads falling off everywhere.
0:11:58 > 0:11:59The stitching that's undone.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01This has actually turned into a hole.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03I can literally get my whole hand through.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06You can even see the straps aren't level.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09You can tell by the material that it doesn't move, and it is dead thick.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11It doesn't have a lot of resemblance at all, really,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14to what I actually should have received.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Billie had unwittingly bought a fake version of a dress made by Blush,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24a leading American prom dress designer.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Disappointed, but expecting the dress to at least fit properly,
0:12:28 > 0:12:29Billie tried it on.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Around my hips it wasn't the right size,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34it was just totally dangling off me, sort of thing,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37not even close to my actual size.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39And it just wasn't what we wanted.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41It was just sort of, what am I going to do?
0:12:44 > 0:12:47With prom just round the corner, Billie had no dress to wear.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Now desperate, she complained to the company.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54They offered us 5% of what we'd paid.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Obviously, we weren't happy with that so we carried on e-mailing them
0:12:58 > 0:13:00and finally they offered 10%,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02but then they stopped replying after that.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08We took Billie's fake Blush dress to Hannah Brady at Alexia Designs,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11the stockists of the genuine dresses.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16This is one of the worst fakes I've ever seen.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19It is just dreadful, there's not a seam on it that's straight.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22I think about three sequins fell off as I touched it then.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Oh, it's just awful.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30I feel dreadful for the poor girl that had to wear this to her prom.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Hannah hears many stories of girls
0:13:32 > 0:13:35whose prom dream has been dashed by a fake dress.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It's really, really sad when we hear about girls that have bought
0:13:38 > 0:13:42a prom dress from a counterfeit site, not realising,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and then the dress turns up and it's just, you know, it's a mess.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48If counterfeiters see a nice dress,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50and think they can make a quick buck off it, they will.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Many a last-minute prom panic has been caused by a bad quality fake
0:13:57 > 0:13:59that's not a patch on the genuine dress.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05So here we have a genuine Blush prom dress
0:14:05 > 0:14:07and this is a counterfeit dress.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11As you can see, the quality is pretty dreadful.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15The sequences are glued on, there's loose threads everywhere,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18the stitching on the bodice is just completely haphazard
0:14:18 > 0:14:19from jewel to jewel.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22And some of the jewels are falling off or upside down.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26On our dress, you can see that the sleeves are properly finished,
0:14:26 > 0:14:27the jewels are sitting correctly,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30the way they hang is completely different.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34The seams are manufactured so the dress hangs properly from the hips down.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36And gathers beautifully at the bottom.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Whereas this one, you know, the seams just sit there.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43So would you be able to spot a fake?
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Possibly not. Sellers of fake dresses have developed clever ways to trick
0:14:47 > 0:14:51unsuspecting prom goers into thinking they're buying the real thing.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54One of the biggest tricks that counterfeiters use is stealing images.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58So the time and effort we've put into creating a photo shoot,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00they just take the image, scrub off the logo
0:15:00 > 0:15:01and shove it up on their website.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07To stop their photos from being stolen by the fakers,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11genuine manufacturers use special image searching software
0:15:11 > 0:15:13that can identify a particular photo
0:15:13 > 0:15:17by analysing the image, shapes and colours.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20But the fakers are now changing the images they've stolen
0:15:20 > 0:15:24from genuine websites so that the software can't identify them.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27They will crop an image so you can't see a model's head.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29We see them taking out backgrounds,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31even wholesale swapping out heads using Photoshop
0:15:31 > 0:15:33to change a model's head completely.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36So this one, we have a nice photo shoot,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40and then in this one, they've removed all the background image.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45That model is gone, you have a generic model face in her place.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47In this one, there's a very distinctive background,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51which would make an image easier for scanning software to pick out
0:15:51 > 0:15:53on a website. So they've removed that,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56put in a basic block colour background
0:15:56 > 0:15:58and again Photoshopped the model's head out,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02so that's what they do to make it harder for legitimate suppliers
0:16:02 > 0:16:04to put a stop to this.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11Fake prom dress images like this often appear on websites designed to fool
0:16:11 > 0:16:14the unsuspecting buyer.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16We wanted to see how easy it is to create one,
0:16:16 > 0:16:21so we went to see Mike Andrews from the National Trading Standards e-crime team.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26It is quite easy to do, to create a copy of a website,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30to take images and component parts of one genuine website
0:16:30 > 0:16:32and actually create a fake website
0:16:32 > 0:16:35that the consumer thinks they're dealing with the legitimate trader.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Mike has taken up Fake Britain's challenge
0:16:38 > 0:16:41to build a fake prom dress website
0:16:41 > 0:16:45using the genuine Alexia Designs website as a template.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50This is the code, the HTML, which makes up the website,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and then we can get to work on manipulating the files that we want
0:16:54 > 0:16:55to create the fake.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00We've given Mike just half an hour to build a fake prom dress website
0:17:00 > 0:17:03that could be used to sell poor-quality fakes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10A quick bit of manipulation, a quick edit of the text on the website,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and it's just a matter of going in there and amending the various links.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Time's nearly up, but Mike is one step ahead.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30So, that's taken me about just over 20 minutes and we've now got a fake
0:17:30 > 0:17:32copy of the original website.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Mike has created a new fake website called Alexis Designs
0:17:36 > 0:17:40that looks very like the genuine Alexia Designs website.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46We've created an amended version with the Alexis name.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51The original image, with the original branding and logo on it,
0:17:51 > 0:17:52and the one that we doctored.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56It looks very, very similar.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00It is quite easy to create something that really does appear quite genuine.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Now, I can get this uploaded online and quickly start making
0:18:04 > 0:18:05large sums of money.
0:18:05 > 0:18:06A consumer looking at that site
0:18:06 > 0:18:09would probably think they're looking at the genuine website.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Billie Haines is just one of thousands of teenagers who have been duped by
0:18:16 > 0:18:18fake prom dress website like this.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21For her, it was almost too late.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23With prom fast approaching,
0:18:23 > 0:18:28she'd lost ?150 on a fake dress with a terrible fit.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Luckily, she had friends who could fix it.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35She took three weeks to do it because of how badly made it was.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38And then she couldn't even fully fix it.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42She had to take off 100 sequins, just to make it fit properly.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Billie did go to the prom,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49but it was far from the experience she dreamed of.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I did have a nice time
0:18:51 > 0:18:54but it was just being paranoid about what it looked like,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57because it kept rising up as well.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01So all night I was just like pulling it down and tucking it in and trying
0:19:01 > 0:19:04to have a nice time while fiddling all night.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Everyone wants to have that sort of fairy tale moment with a prom dress,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14stepping out of a limo and everyone saying, "Wow, you look amazing!"
0:19:14 > 0:19:17And you just can't get that with a counterfeit dress.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Earlier on Fake Britain,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30we saw how officers from Brent Trading Standards successfully seized
0:19:30 > 0:19:34over 1,000 potentially dangerous fake xenon car head lamp bulbs.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Lots of fake bulbs here.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41A lot of good quality evidence, it'll really help us with our investigation.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46Michael Cadelski found out about the dangers of fake head lamps
0:19:46 > 0:19:50when he needed replacement bulbs for his family car.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54One bulb had blown and because they come in different colour temperatures,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I thought it would be wise to change both bulbs at the same time,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00to make sure they were exactly the same colour.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04New xenon bulbs direct from Volvo cost about ?100 each.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08So Michael decided to look for a better deal online.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10On searching the internet,
0:20:10 > 0:20:15it seemed that ?50-?60 a bulb seemed to be the going rate.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21So when I secured two of them for ?68, I thought I was quids in.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26Michael decided to buy from a British-based seller for added peace of mind.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29But when the bulbs took longer than expected to arrive,
0:20:29 > 0:20:34Michael began to get suspicious, so he contacted the seller.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36In complaining to the guy, he said, you know,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38"I told you they come from Poland,"
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and it really clearly wasn't stated on the website at all
0:20:41 > 0:20:44that they were coming from Poland. It was stating UK.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46So I was a little bit uncertain about them.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Finally, the bulbs arrived.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56They looked OK. So Michael installed them in his car and thought no more
0:20:56 > 0:20:57about it.
0:20:58 > 0:20:59Got home at about half-past five
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and as I pulled up against the garage door,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04I noticed that one of the bulbs was out.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07Turned the ignition off, turned it back on again, still no light,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10got out the car, checked the bulbs,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and the left-hand bulb was not working.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Michael was due to go on holiday before dawn the next day.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20He would need working headlights to drive to the airport in the dark.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It was quite detrimental because we were travelling at four o'clock in
0:21:23 > 0:21:26the morning, Saturday morning and I found this out
0:21:26 > 0:21:29at six o'clock on a Friday.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31With just hours to go before his flight,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Michael had to search for a replacement bulb.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Luckily, he found one and was able to drive to the airport.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41But when he returned from holiday,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45he took a closer look at the bulbs that had failed.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49So, I took the back off and noticed that the circuit board was very,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53very different from the circuit board from the original Volvo Osram
0:21:53 > 0:21:55bulbs that were supplied with the car.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Having a bit of an engineering background,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I realise that it was a very old school style of manufacture
0:22:00 > 0:22:03that was used in it, which obviously alerted me to the fact
0:22:03 > 0:22:06that they were most probably fake.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Michael sent photos of the bulbs to manufacturers Osram.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13They confirmed that they were indeed fake.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16It could have caused us an awful lot of problems, really.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21If it had gone in the middle of the night when I was driving,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24down country lanes or whatever, that would have been detrimental as well.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Michael was left out of pocket by a fake xenon bulb
0:22:29 > 0:22:32but this is not just about money.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36The fakes can pose serious safety risks to other road users.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Phillips is a leading xenon head lamps manufacturer.
0:22:42 > 0:22:47This factory in Germany is the heart of their xenon head lamps business.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Sales director Richard Armstrong is concerned about the safety of the
0:22:51 > 0:22:53fake bulbs on the market.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57If you fit a counterfeit bulb with a dramatic increase in glare,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01that represents a serious hazard for oncoming drivers.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Car headlights are manufactured to meet high safety standards.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08They need to shine as much bright light as possible onto the road ahead
0:23:08 > 0:23:12at just the right angle to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Richard is going to run a test to show how the fake bulbs perform.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23First, he'll test a genuine bulb.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25As we can see through this demonstration,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28the black line represents the horizon, the cut-off line,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32and the red line represents the legal limit which the light must not
0:23:32 > 0:23:35exceed, because when it exceeds the red line,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37that is when glare starts to occur.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40And as we can see, with a genuine bulb fitted,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44it meets all the legal requirements to ensure that no dazzling of
0:23:44 > 0:23:46oncoming traffic can occur.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51But, when the fake bulb is tested, the difference is stark.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53As we can see with the counterfeit bulb fitting,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56it's very clearly exceeding the line dramatically.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58That increases glare.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01What this means, by fitting a counterfeit bulb,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05every time you go out in your car at night time and you switch on your
0:24:05 > 0:24:08lights, you're in serious danger of dazzling other drivers and,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13as a consequence, increasing the likelihood of causing a serious accident.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Blinding oncoming drivers is just one of the many hazards posed by
0:24:17 > 0:24:19fake headlight bulbs.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23The dangers of fitting a counterfeit bulb range from electrical problems
0:24:23 > 0:24:28on the vehicle, which may result in airbags being detonated unnecessarily
0:24:28 > 0:24:31and, in extreme cases, we've seen vehicles catch fire
0:24:31 > 0:24:33as a result of a counterfeit bulb being fitted.
0:24:35 > 0:24:41Richard's team was recently sent a fake bulb bought by a British motorist.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45They're going to run another test, this time an electrical test.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48And outdoors, for safety reasons.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51The customer's reported damage to the vehicle,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54so we're not sure what the results of the test are going to produce.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03The results are swift and conclusive.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06There's a very strong smell of burning rubber coming through.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09The fake bulb is overheating and smoking dangerously.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13It's moving towards a serious hazard for the driver, as this continues.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Out of sight under the bonnet of someone's car,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20this fake bulb would have continued to heat up.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25This represents a significant danger to the driver of the car.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Because it can lead, then, to a full-blown fire on the vehicle.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35It's shocked us, to see what the potential is of a fire inside the
0:25:35 > 0:25:37vehicle, by fitting a counterfeit bulb.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40It may seem like it represents a saving at the beginning, but,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44as we can see, the hazard it presents to the vehicle driver
0:25:44 > 0:25:46is a serious danger.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55This micro-SD card is a great digital storage device.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00It's small, but it hold over 40,000 of your treasured photos or 24 hours
0:26:00 > 0:26:04of home video. But if you had all your precious moments recorded on this,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07you might regret it, because it's a fake!
0:26:07 > 0:26:09How safe are your memories?
0:26:11 > 0:26:15From CompactFlash cards to secure Digital or SD cards,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18we all want portable storage these days.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21The more we take photos with our cameras and phones,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25the more we need these kinds of things to store the data on.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26And it's a big business,
0:26:26 > 0:26:31with the global market for SD cards set to reach over ?14 billion
0:26:31 > 0:26:34within a few years.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38But, as Tim Lawrence from Derbyshire discovered,
0:26:38 > 0:26:43the fakers have inserted themselves into the portable storage market, too.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Tim loves cycling around the great outdoors and video recording his
0:26:47 > 0:26:53adventures using a small video camera that records onto micro-SD cards.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Tend to record the footage
0:26:56 > 0:26:59on the more interesting parts of the route.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03For example, if you're going down a gnarly, rocky descent,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06you can actually see, oh, that's where I made that mistake.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Tim needed a new, high-capacity 64GB micro-SD card card,
0:27:14 > 0:27:15so he went online.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19He found one for around ?45 which was a good deal at the time.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25The card arrived, and it looked absolutely fine,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27so Tim started filming.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31A few months later, he was riding and filming a particularly challenging
0:27:31 > 0:27:33mountain bike route.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Afterwards, Tim took the micro-SD card straight home and plugged it
0:27:37 > 0:27:40into his computer.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44We'll try and see what we recorded.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Clicked open.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50And basically it came up with that - error, can't play.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53There's a problem the extension format.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56And what you've recorded, you've lost.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Try as he might, Tim couldn't recover the footage, so he called SanDisk,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04who he thought had manufactured the micro-SD card.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07They informed me through the information I provided
0:28:07 > 0:28:10that it was a non-genuine one.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Tim was shocked to discover that he had in fact bought a fake card.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21The packaging and the card that was enclosed in the packaging was that
0:28:21 > 0:28:25good a copy
0:28:25 > 0:28:29that, at first glance, you wouldn't realise that it was a copy.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34Tim had no chance of spotting the difference between the fake card
0:28:34 > 0:28:38and the fake adapter that it came with and the genuine item.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40But there is a man who can.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Mike Montgomery is a data recovery expert who regularly deals with people
0:28:46 > 0:28:49who've lost precious photos and other important information.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53It can be very devastating.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57For a business, it can mean the end of their business.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02For a student, who has just done three years' academic work, to lose that,
0:29:02 > 0:29:08and they have to start all over again, if the data can't be recovered.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11We showed Mike Tim's fake micro-SD card.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13First, he examines the outside.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17All right, the first thing I can see is that this is
0:29:17 > 0:29:20a very strange hologram on it, and usually,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22you have the manufacturer's name
0:29:22 > 0:29:24or their logo.
0:29:24 > 0:29:30This has SH2015B.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Meaningless. It's very suspicious.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Tim was unable to play his footage back after recording it on to his fake card,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and Mike wants to find out why, so he's going to run a test.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48What I did was I took an old photograph of Daisy, one of our dogs,
0:29:48 > 0:29:54and I copied it into a folder 100 times,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57and then did the same,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00another 100 times, in the next folder and so on,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02until the memory card is full.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05The fake card is filled to its maximum capacity
0:30:05 > 0:30:07with images of Daisy the dog.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09What we've found from that is that,
0:30:09 > 0:30:14after a few thousand repetitions of that, is that all of a sudden,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16we've got corrupt files.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19You see here that these files here
0:30:19 > 0:30:21are totally corrupt.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25That one there has started to break up about halfway through.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28And then, from there,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32there's a folder there that has absolutely nothing in it even though
0:30:32 > 0:30:34we have put 100 files into that.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39A genuine memory card should warn you when it's full up.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42The card won't allow you to record anything else,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46and everything you've recorded up to that point is safely stored.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49That's not the case with Tim's fake card.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54It's constantly being overwritten, overwritten, overwritten.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58And that corrupts, and leads to data lost.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Mike's discovered that the card has started recording over itself,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09creating new files that are corrupt while deleting old ones.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12That's why Tim couldn't play back his footage.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15But Mike's noticed something else as well.
0:31:15 > 0:31:20On this memory card, we should have 36,600 photos on here.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23But actually, all that we've got,
0:31:23 > 0:31:259,120
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and we can see here that it
0:31:28 > 0:31:31says the total size on there is 15.2 Gigabytes.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35So that is nothing like the 64GB that's stamped on the outside.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39With the help of some clever software,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43this fake card will tell your computer and you that it's a more expensive,
0:31:43 > 0:31:45high-capacity 64GB card.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49But in reality it's only 16GB.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52A much cheaper, smaller card.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57It's an easy mark-up and profit margin for the sellers of fake cards.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01People that make fake memory cards are very clever and,
0:32:01 > 0:32:05when you plug the device into the computer it's going to show up
0:32:05 > 0:32:08as the size they tell you it is.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11If you save your data on a fake SD card,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14it might be the last time you ever see it.
0:32:14 > 0:32:21With fake devices, the chances of recovery drop drastically.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Because, in many cases, the data just doesn't exist any more.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34This is a piece of linoleum or lino.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37There was a time when the majority of kitchens and bathrooms across the
0:32:37 > 0:32:39country had this stuff on the floor.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Now, take a look at this.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45It's a linocut made with lino, and it's a work of art.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Very striking. It's called Sunbathers, by the artist, Leonard Beaumont.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51It's worth around ?4,000.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53Or at least it would be, if it were real.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57It's a fake. And so are all these other linocuts.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59And, as Fake Britain discovered
0:32:59 > 0:33:02they were good enough to fool many experts.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Gail Brodholt is a linocut artist.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10She is making linocut prints in the style of a pioneering type of art
0:33:10 > 0:33:13that emerged in Britain in the 1920s.
0:33:15 > 0:33:22Basically, you draw your image onto a piece of lino and you gouge out
0:33:22 > 0:33:25the areas that you don't want printed.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31I roll out the ink onto it then I put it in my press
0:33:31 > 0:33:35and put the paper on top and pull off the print.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42And each subsequent layer brings more and more to the image.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Until, finally, you are left with a complete image.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50It's a layering process.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Linocut artist Claude Flight pioneered this type of print.
0:33:55 > 0:34:01In 1925, he helped to found the Grosvenor School, which promoted a simple ethos,
0:34:01 > 0:34:03that art should be affordable.
0:34:04 > 0:34:09He said that you should be able to buy one of his lino cuts
0:34:09 > 0:34:12and still have enough money left over for a pint of beer
0:34:12 > 0:34:14and a trip to the cinema.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17He very much saw them as art for the working classes.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24Back in the 1930s, you could find linocut prints for around ?2.
0:34:24 > 0:34:25But through the decades,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28original linocuts have become increasingly popular.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Prices have rocketed and auction house Lawrences in Somerset
0:34:34 > 0:34:39has seen first-hand the surge in popularity of linocut prints.
0:34:39 > 0:34:4225, 28, 30.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43?28.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Richard Kay is one of their auctioneers.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50We have auctions of pictures here four times a year
0:34:50 > 0:34:53and prices range from ?100-?150 for a collectable print
0:34:56 > 0:34:59up to, well, we've sold pictures for over ?300,000 here.
0:35:00 > 0:35:06Richard's claim to fame is achieving over ?150,000 for a group of six
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Grosvenor School linocuts.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13Being immersed in the world of buying and selling linocut art,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17it wasn't long before Richard crossed paths with an art collector
0:35:17 > 0:35:19named Sheridan Tandy.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23I know him to have been a graduate of the Royal College of Art.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25I know him to be an art collector.
0:35:25 > 0:35:26A great art enthusiast,
0:35:26 > 0:35:31and a man with contacts and connections in the art world.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33He has bought pictures from us before,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36sometimes for five-figure prices
0:35:36 > 0:35:39and he has also consigned pictures for sale.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43One day, Tandy turned up with four pieces
0:35:43 > 0:35:46that he wanted Richard to sell for him.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50He showed me the four prints in question
0:35:50 > 0:35:53and they were by Leonard Beaumont.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59These are the very prints that Tandy presented for auction and, indeed,
0:35:59 > 0:36:04each appears to bear the signature of linocut artist Leonard Beaumont.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07These prints at auction are not cheap to buy.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Beaumont's work has become quite collectable,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13certainly popular enough to be capable of making, in some cases,
0:36:13 > 0:36:15a few thousand pounds.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20Richard was excited by what he saw and Tandy gave a plausible explanation
0:36:20 > 0:36:23over how he was in possession of linocuts
0:36:23 > 0:36:26that were of such good quality, despite their age.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Knowing his artistic connections, it didn't surprise me at all,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34that they could have come out of the Folio from an art school
0:36:34 > 0:36:39and had been kept away from light and heat and damp.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43It was perfectly possible that they would be in such very good condition.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Satisfied that the works were genuine,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Lawrences sold the four Beaumont prints under the hammer
0:36:49 > 0:36:52for nearly ?6,000.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Including this work, Sunbathers, which sold for ?4,200.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Lot 91, no further bids.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03The ones we had here were assessed,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07scrutinised and bought by experienced,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09intelligent, discerning collectors.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Two of whom, in fact,
0:37:11 > 0:37:15are noted specialists in British prints of the 20th century.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18None of them raised the smallest murmour of disquiet
0:37:18 > 0:37:24or unease about the age or the attribution or the quality
0:37:24 > 0:37:26or the genuineness of these prints.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Sheridan Tandy seemed to have a ready supply of rare
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Leonard Beaumont art for sale,
0:37:33 > 0:37:38but he also had works by another linocut artist, Cyril Power.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Tandy was about to go up in the world by trying to sell one of his
0:37:43 > 0:37:46linocuts through one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers,
0:37:46 > 0:37:51of fine Art and antiques, Bonhams, based in London.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56He met with Bonhams print specialist, Tanya Grigoroglu.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01He let me know that he had some works by the Grosvenor School of Art.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04I led him upstairs, where we examined the works.
0:38:04 > 0:38:10I think, up until then, it was a very ordinary business meeting.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13But Tandy's behaviour made Tanya suspicious.
0:38:13 > 0:38:19It was a bit strange of how much in control he tried to be of the conversation.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24He was kind of pointing me to the directions he wanted that made me
0:38:24 > 0:38:27suspect that things might not be right.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Tanya usually sells linocut prints
0:38:30 > 0:38:33for those who know that the works have surged in value
0:38:33 > 0:38:37and who want to get the highest possible price,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39but Tandy wasn't interested in price.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42He just wanted to see the prints sell.
0:38:42 > 0:38:48He had no expectations in terms of realising the highest possible price.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52His expectation was only that I would ensure that those things sold
0:38:52 > 0:38:55and he didn't receive them back.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58But I suggested very conservative estimates.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02I received no objection, which was unusual, because,
0:39:02 > 0:39:07at the time, people were trying to maximise their profits.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11So, Tanya decided to take a closer look at these prints that purported
0:39:11 > 0:39:14to be over 80 years old.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16I did take it out of the frame.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20The first thing that struck me was a very familiar smell.
0:39:20 > 0:39:25From my experience of printmaking, it could have been turpentine,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29which is a substance you use to wipe down
0:39:29 > 0:39:32the ink to clean your roller.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38It's very unusual for a print to have any sort of smell from the
0:39:38 > 0:39:43print shop, especially for work that would date from the 1930s.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49The prints claiming to be Leonard Beaumont and Cyril Parrott
0:39:49 > 0:39:51literally didn't smell right.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55And there were other signs that they weren't what Tandy said they were.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57The margins looked a bit too clean.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02They didn't have any previous mounting signs or any kind of signs
0:40:02 > 0:40:07of wear throughout its 70-year life up to date.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Something wasn't exactly right.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14Tanya needed her suspicions confirmed.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18So she turned to Gordon Samuel, of art gallery Osborne Samuel,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22a leading dealer in Grosvenor Art School prints.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27The gallery owned a genuine print on white paper.
0:40:27 > 0:40:33Tanya and Gordon were able to compare Tandy's fake against the real thing.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37All the prints that the Grosvenor school artists made were hand-printed.
0:40:37 > 0:40:43There's a sort of handmade feel to the transfer of the ink to the paper.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47None of these nuances are evident in this one.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50It is completely flat.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51And it looks like a reproduction.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Yeah, they are kind of very uniform bold black colour.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00With the fake alongside the genuine artwork,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03the difference in print quality was clear.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07This is a very, very thin, Oriental paper from the 1930s.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09There are hinge marks here.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Old, brown tape, slight yellowing of the paper.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17There were tell-tale marks of age on the real artwork that Tanya was
0:41:17 > 0:41:19unable to find on Tandy's work.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21And the signatures didn't match, either.
0:41:21 > 0:41:26You can see that it flows and it's inscribed, EP,
0:41:26 > 0:41:31which stands for experimental proof, matriarchy, Cyril E Power.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34And on here, it looks as if he's had a second go at it.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37Letters have been retraced to try and match the style of the handwriting
0:41:37 > 0:41:39of the artist.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41The final verdict was in.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46The prints that Tandy had shown to Bonhams in London and the prints at
0:41:46 > 0:41:50auction house Lawrences in Somerset had unwittingly sold as genuine for
0:41:50 > 0:41:54nearly ?6,000 were all elaborate fakes.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58I'd only seen one fake of these linocuts before,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01because they're very, very difficult to do.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09It was time to alert the Metropolitan Police's Art and Antiques unit,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12headed up by Detective Sergeant Claire Hutcheon.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16We believed that there was potentially only a few pieces that were being
0:42:16 > 0:42:18put onto the auction market.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20However, if we didn't act soon,
0:42:20 > 0:42:24that could escalate to more auction houses and other dealers being
0:42:24 > 0:42:25involved in this fraud.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Officers went to his home address,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35and Mr Tandy immediately admitted to the officers that he had indeed
0:42:35 > 0:42:37consigned prints to auction houses
0:42:37 > 0:42:41purporting them to be prints from the 1920s
0:42:41 > 0:42:44when in fact he had made them himself.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48The Met's art and antiques unit had enough evidence to bring a case
0:42:48 > 0:42:50against Tandy.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54He admitted three counts of fraud by force representation and was
0:42:54 > 0:42:57sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01He became a bit overconfident.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05He thought that he could pass them on and I think he did get pleasure
0:43:05 > 0:43:07out of deceiving people.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15That's all from Fake Britain.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Goodbye.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Everybody loves sitcom. I've watched a lot of telly,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51and I know them extremely well. I'm hoping to win.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54I'll just do anything to be in a clip.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56Are you having a breakdown?